Issue with old 44 Mag ammo

I posed this same question here a few months ago, about a bunch of grungy 44-40 I had. Got all the same responses, but the one that made the most sense to me was the fact that the factories all tumble or vibratorialy polish all their finished ammo. So I went ahead and vibrated them overnite and happily sent them all downrange the next day with no ill consequences at all.
I have also read in old loading manuals back to the 60s (I've been at this awhile) NEVER tumble loaded ammo, but the concern stated was that a pointed bullet may fall with enough force to set off a primer.........this too is BS!!
Do not worry about the corrosion on the lead bullet it will not harm your rifle in any way, it is lead oxide and will actually prevent the bullet from leadding your bore and the lube on the bullet under the case mouth will still be intact and will do what it is intended to do.
 
c-fbmi said:
I posed this same question here a few months ago, about a bunch of grungy 44-40 I had. Got all the same responses, but the one that made the most sense to me was the fact that the factories all tumble or vibratorialy polish all their finished ammo. So I went ahead and vibrated them overnite and happily sent them all downrange the next day with no ill consequences at all.
I have also read in old loading manuals back to the 60s (I've been at this awhile) NEVER tumble loaded ammo, but the concern stated was that a pointed bullet may fall with enough force to set off a primer.........this too is BS!!
Do not worry about the corrosion on the lead bullet it will not harm your rifle in any way, it is lead oxide and will actually prevent the bullet from leadding your bore and the lube on the bullet under the case mouth will still be intact and will do what it is intended to do.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I found out with 43 Mauser ammo many years ago when I first got into reloading and shooting.I was going to breakdown a bunch of old Dominion rounds because I was leery of the look of the bullets with that whitish,greyish powdery stuff and all on the exposed portion of the bullet.I pulled the first couple bullets and the bullets were like new where the atmosphere couldn't get at them.I decided to just give them a quick twist in a ball of fine steel wool and then decided even that wasn't necessary so I went ahead and used them up.No problems whatsoever,badly oxidized would be a different story obviously.My major concern would be the condition of the brass case itself as I've come across lots of old rounds that were corroded to the point of no return and would undoubtedly rupture upon firing.
 
I ended up just polishing them up with steel wool by hand while watching reruns of Band of Brothers. I thouroughly enjoy all aspects of reloading, even the repetitious tedious stuff.

However I do not like using the solid lead rounds in my Ruger 44 Carbine so I guess I should buy a revolver! Sounds like as good of an excuse as any right...?
 
I would not feel bad about shooting those cartridges in a carbine. A little bit of oxidization on the lead doesn't hurt anything. You should lube the bullets lightly with LEE liquid Alox (about $5 for a bottle) and shoot away. It won't hurt anything.
 
Has nothing to do with lead in the barrel, I once had an issue with it feeding rounds, I am just worried the action will shave lead from the bullets and make a mess in there. The rifle is not one I like to take apart for cleaning.

You think it will feed them fine without leaving lead shavings in the action? If all is good, then instead of buying another 44, I will either purchase a 30-06 or a 6.5x55.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom